003 (Graphic Novel)
Francoise Arnoul, designated 003, is one of the nine protagonists of Cyborg 009. A former ballet dancer from France, she was kidnapped by Black Ghost in broad daylight and turned into a cyborg. Like previous incarnations, she possesses enhanced hearing and sight, with the recent ability to manipulate sound. Appearance Francoise is a beautiful young girl in her mid-to-late teens, bearing a similar age to Cyborg 009. She has shoulder-length ginger hair, held back by a red headband. She wears a modern depiction of the classic Cyborg 00 uniform, with realistic padded shoulders, knee-high boots, and a black belt with a realistic gun holster holding a blaster. Later on in the arc, she starts to wear an upgraded uniform that consists of a red-and-black bodysuit that is able to change colors as a form of camouflage (ie: appearing white with violet accents when she's hiding out in the snow). It is with this second uniform that she gains the trademark yellow scarf. Personality Like her previous incarnations, Francoise is a kind and compassionate girl dedicated to helping her fellow cyborgs. She seems to harbor a strong sense of justice, as she tried convince Cyborg 009 that Black Ghost was the enemy in light of his recent awakening. Despite being turned into a cyborg, Francoise still believes herself to be human and dislikes being seen as a mere machine or weapon to be used by others. Unlike her previous incarnations, however, Francoise is more willing to enter the battlefield and provide her fellow cyborgs direct aid when necessary. In Issue 2, she helped 009 fight against the cyborg twins Alpha and Omega by using her own voice to distract them, which ultimately led to their demise. In the final battle against Black Ghost, she rallied her fellow cyborgs to help 009 from getting killed by Sekar, and proved instrumental in his defeat. However, Francoise is fairly idealistic and disliked the thought of using her new abilities to harm others. It is implied that Francoise might have a crush on 009, as she is seen interacting with him the most. This serves as a nod to their very close relationship depicted in past media such as the original manga and its 2012 sequel Cyborg 009: Conclusion GOD'S WAR. History Francoise was a up-and-coming ballet dancer living with her older brother Jean Arnoul. One fateful day as the two siblings walked home from ballet practice, a pair of Black Ghost agents suddenly drove up to them in a van and kidnapped Francoise in broad daylight, with Jean too powerless to stop it. Francoise tried to resist, but it was no use. She never saw her brother again. After the kidnapping, Francoise was turned into a cybernetic weapon, with the purpose of creating an army of cyborg soldiers that will take the promotion of warfare to the next level. It wasn't long until she and other people who were turned into cyborgs were freed by Ivan Wisky, with the help of Dr. Gilmore. After Joe Shimamura, the last of the prototype 00 cyborgs, escaped his confines, those who were already freed by Ivan and Gilmore broke free from their programmed restraints and revolted against their creators. When Joe showed doubt over who to side with, Francoise tried reaching out to him by imploring on his sense of justice. It wasn't until Ivan convinced him to "listen to your heart" that Joe agreed to side with the cyborgs. With Gilmore's help, the now completed cyborg team succeeded in escaping the self-destructing island base, albeit barely, and gaining their freedom from Black Ghost. Later, as the 00 cyborgs recovered in a secret underground base set up by Gilmore in southwest America, Francoise and the newly grouped cyborgs tell Joe of their origins, to prove Gilmore's innocence in their transformation. After Joe rediscovered his lost memories, he left for Tokyo to try to gain his old life back, only to be attacked by the cyborg twins 0010 Alpha and Omega. Fortunately, Francoise managed to track Joe down and saved him, and together they launched an attack that ended with Alpha and Omega electrocuting each other to death. Francoise later takes Joe back to Gilmore to heal his injuries. Jet Link rebukes Joe for traveling alone with an active Black Ghost tracking device, which upsets Francoise, but Joe admits that he's right. After Joe is healed, he finds Francoise and learns that she's upset over using her abilities to kill Alpha and Omega. Joe assures her that she "saved" him which cheers Francoise up...when they are attacked by Cyborg 0013. Although 0013 proves invulnerable to all attacks, Joe has Chang Changku dig a hole with his flame breath, while the others distract 0013. A timed psychic attack from Ivan sends 0013 falling down the hole, killing him. A hidden bomb implanted within 0013's body detonates shortly after, but the 00 cyborgs escape the explosion just in time. They also manage to retrieve 0013's back tooth, which allows them to trace Black Ghost's hideout to Russia. Using information from Jet's space reconnaissance, the 00 cyborgs stage an ambush from within. They discover that Sekar plans to sell a mass-produced cyborg army to clients from around the world, as a secret means to control the world's leaders and eventually conquer the Earth for himself. While the other 00 cyborgs work on destroying Black Ghost's headquarters and confronting Sekar, Francoise, Gilmore, and Ivan try to locate Dr. Gamo Wisky, Ivan's father. They try to persuade Gamo into changing sides, but they are captured by Black Ghost drones. Later, all of the 00 cyborgs including Gilmore are brought to Sekar to have their memories and mainframes erased. However, Gamo has a change of heart regarding Ivan and betrays his master by releasing the 00 cyborgs, giving them the upper hand. Joe engages Sekar after he kills Gamo, only to receive a beating. Francoise rallies the other 00 cyborgs together to help Joe, and together they combine their abilities to defeat Sekar. However, Sekar vows that war will always exist as long as humans remain, and flies into space, inadvertently taking Joe with him. Jet flies after Joe, and Francoise and their friends are forced to watch as they plummet down back to Earth. They later find Jet and Joe in an unknown location, but thanks to their timely intervention, the two cyborgs are revived and healed. After Joe wakes up from his reentry, Francoise takes the time to introduce him to the 00 cyborgs' new home - a place that is "safe" and untraceable to Black Ghost. The book ends as Francoise stands with the other cyborgs on a cliff, as Joe vows to protect the world from future Black Ghost-related activities. Abilities Like her previous incarnations, Francoise maintains her ability of enhanced hearing and sight. Because of this, she is often compared to a human radar, able to detect enemies and sounds from miles away. It is possible she will serve as the cyborg team's reconnaissance. In this modern version of her character, Francoise is now able to harness and manipulate sound waves. In the battle against 0010 Alpha and Omega, she alters the sound of her own voice to mimic the cyborg twins. Alpha and Omega are tricked into running into each other, causing them to short-circuit and die. As a native of France, Francoise possesses an innate knowledge of the French language and has sometimes used such terms in her speech. Gallery ArchaiaFran Tofirstdesign.png|Early design for Cyborg 003, done in 2012. Notes *Early promotional art by Marcus To (see above Gallery) depicted this version of Francoise with slightly longer, light blonde hair and a more buxom physique. When he actually drew her for the graphic novel, her hair color was changed to be a ginger shade (although still appearing as a dark blonde in some scenes), and her bust size was toned down. *In Francoise's backstory, it is mentioned that a group of Black Ghost agents kidnapped her in a van in broad daylight. This is a callback to her manga incarnation, who was kidnapped the same way. Category:Cyborgs Category:Graphic Novel characters Category:Female characters